Trump sidesteps Ukraine talks, shifts burden to Europe

Volodymyr Horbach, head of the Kyiv Institute of Northern Eurasia Transformation, emphasized in a conversation with PAP that U.S. President Donald Trump is clearly avoiding responsibility for peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.

According to Horbach, Trump "washes his hands" of this responsibility and shifts it onto both countries, and in case of failure of his actions, the initiative should be taken over by Europe.

Horbach noted that Trump is emotionally dependent on Vladimir Putin, which influences his political decisions. The expert claims that Trump is not a leader in relations with Putin but rather follows his leadership, which may affect his actions in international politics.

The political scientist pointed out three key failures of Trump in the negotiation process. The first of these is the proposal for an unconditional ceasefire, which Ukraine accepted but Russia rejected. Another is the 22-point peace plan, which was also rejected by the Russians. The last failure is the lack of progress after a phone conversation with Putin.

Horbach believes that both Trump and U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance are blackmailing Ukraine, Russia, and the European Union with the possibility of the USA withdrawing from the negotiation process. This situation introduces uncertainty about the future support for Ukraine and may lead to new negotiations with Russia regarding trade and economic cooperation.

According to Horbach, the USA will not lift the current sanctions imposed on Russia but will also not introduce new ones to avoid a trade conflict with China and India, which are major importers of Russian fossil fuels. The expert emphasizes that such confrontation is not in the interest of the USA.